[thinknubpad]

I see the lack of accountability in this spree of layoffs as being similar to the lack of accountability in the recent automotive chip shortage. Tell me if this sounds familiar:

When the pandemic hit, car manufacturers saw travel plummet and decided that car sales would also plummet for the foreseeable future.

The executives in charge of the auto manufacturers responded by cancelling huge swaths of orders with their suppliers, believing that the new market conditions would be persistent.

18 months later, with vaccines arriving, demand for cars spikes. Auto manufacturers panic, and rush to place new orders with their foundries, who found new customers and now have 24-month lead times.

The MBAs shrug and say that there is no way anybody could have predicted this: after all, their competitors are in the same boat. They jack up prices and reap the rewards of their poor decision making, but the company and consumers would both be in a much better position if the executives had done their job properly instead of hammering the panic button.

Maybe this lack of accountability at the top is a deeper, more systemic issue.